The Things Worth Having Take Time
My story starts with a plethora of injuries.
Not the dramatic coma-in-ICU variety, but a slow, creeping dysfunction from years of abusing my body and shrugging off the warning signs that all was not right.
When I was 26, my body finally said no more. It made me finally pay attention.
Symptom after symptom forced me to redefine my prioirites in life. I gave up all the sports I loved so much in the pursuit of medical answers—which took me years to obtain. Through this process, I had to reinvent my identity. I found myself crushed me under the weight of questions with no answers. I had no idea when I would be able to add any of those activities back into my life, or if I ever would at all. I grieved the life I had just so I could face the challenge in front of me. The monumental challenge of healing what had broken.
I would eventually piece the puzzle together in a picture of understanding.
Skip forward years later and I gradually began doing the things I loved most once again. My walks turned into runs, and those runs went from road back to trail. I started riding my mountain bike on short road rides, then returned the mountain bike to dirt and worked back up to the aggressive positioning of the road bike for longer training rides. Snowboarding has changed for me, as I'm far more aware, patient and respectful of the process, but it too has returned.
Today, my life looks infinitely better than it did in the midst of that battle.
The last sport to reappear in my experience was downhill mountain biking. This is one of my core sports, one that makes me the happiest. I finally added a DH bike to my fleet last summer and I’m looking forward to a full season of riding this year.
The most important takeaway I want you to carry with you from this story is how vital it is to have patience when it’s the last thing you want to feel. It's an incredible gift to give yourself time to accomplish what your heart wants instead of giving in to a more immediate form of gratification.
You never know what the future holds. I cannot tell you how many times I have thought something was impossible, only to see the situation shift in my favour as I moved along the path I had chosen. The monumental challenge of regaining my health and physical ability was one that demanded more faith and patience than I thought I could give it.
With everything in life in question, the question then becomes: How do I know I'm on the right path?
By following your heart. It will never lead you astray.
When you follow your heart with trust and perseverance, you don't need to know what the end result will be. When you move with faith, you know that whatever comes will be exactly what you're meant to experience. This needs to be married with enough patience to allow the good things to come. The hard work to pay off. The situation to shift, the good luck to appear.
Trust yourself. On this road of life, please, please, please, let the process take years if it needs to. I can promise you it’s worth the patience, challenge and hard work.
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If this resonated, start with The Art of Being Human, or explore more through The Resilience Method© Core Training.
